Image display apparatus, menu display method therefor, image display system, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

There are provided an image display apparatus and method which are always capable of displaying the whole of menus at a plurality of hierarchical levels and realize a user-friendly interface, a menu display system including at least one menu display apparatus of the above type, and a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing the menu display method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to an image display apparatus fordisplaying menu images used for control of the apparatus itself, a menudisplay method therefor, an image display system, and a storage mediumstoring a program for executing the menu display method.

[0003] 2. Prior Art

[0004] Conventionally, it is a generally known method to use a pull-downmenu or a popup menu when a user gives instructions concerning changesof a channel, a sound, an input source, and the like, to an imagedisplay apparatus, such as a multi-screen television receiver.

[0005]FIGS. 37A and 37B illustrate an example of a method of this kind.When the user desires to change an input source of a display screenshown in FIG. 37A, first, he operates a menu key, and calls an operationmenu 951 at a first hierarchical level, as shown in FIG. 37B. Here, theuser employs an up arrow key and a down arrow key as dedicated keys toselect a desired option (SCREEN 3, in this example) and operate adetermination key. In response to the operation, an operation menu 952at a second hierarchical level is displayed, and the user selects anoption “INPUT SOUCE”, for instance. Then, similarly, operation menus 953and 954 at third and fourth hierarchical levels are displayedsequentially, for instance, and the user selects and determines options“IS SWITCHED TO INTERNET” and “TO SELECT CANON INC”, whereby the inputsource is changed.

[0006] At this time, when the user views a television program by using atelevision receiver, or enjoys a movie or the like reproduced by a videocassette recorder, the user normally views the same at a certaindistance from the body of the television receiver. Therefore, generally,large font characters are used to display operation menus so as to allowthe user to view and understand details of the menu easily.

[0007] Also, conventionally, the operation or function of DTV (DigitalTelevision) equipment is controlled in various ways. For instance, therehave been proposed, Method (1) in which similarly to conventional TVdevices, as shown in FIG. 38, a remote controller is provided withkeypad buttons corresponding to the respective functions of the DTVdevice, Method (2) in which pointing devices or keypad buttons formoving a cursor are employed, and as shown in FIG. 39, options aresequentially selected from a multistage hierarchical menu for finallyselecting a desired final function, Method (3) in which a function isselected by using a plurality of tabs, as shown in FIG. 40, for makingvarious settings of a computer and options shown together withdescriptions on respective function-configuration screens under thetabs.

[0008] However, the above conventional examples suffer from thefollowing problems:

[0009] (1) Recent digitalization of a television receiver has led to anincreased number of functions of the receiver, which in turn leads toincreased numbers of hierarchies of the menu and menu options. Inaccordance with such an increase in the number of functions of thetelevision receiver, it is required to display menu options in moredetail so as to permit even a beginner to understand the contents of themenu with ease, which results in an increase in the contents and thenumber of characters of each menu option. Under these circumstances, itis sometimes impossible for the conventional operation menu system todisplay all the operation menus to be displayed on the screen of atelevision receiver.

[0010] To overcome such problems, it is contemplated that as shown inFIG. 37B, when a menu at a lower level in hierarchy cannot be displayedon the screen, the menu at the lower level is superimposed on a menu ata higher level in hierarchy which is already displayed. In this case,the menu positioned at the higher level in hierarchy is deleted, and itbecomes impossible for the user to view all the menus on the screen.This makes it difficult to confirm menu options displayed at the lowestlevel in hierarchy at the this time. Further, if the user recognizesthat a selected menu option is not a desired one, it is difficult todetermine to which hierarchical level he should return.

[0011] (2) In controlling a DTV device, if Method (1) is employed whichprovides a remote controller with the FIG. 38 keypad buttonscorresponding to the functions of the DTV device, the keypad buttons areincreased in number, which tends to bring about erroneous depression ofthe keypad buttons, and further makes it impossible to performcomfortable operation of the remote controller while viewing the screenof the DTV device, since it is required to watch a remote controller onhand, when a keypad button corresponding to a desired function is lookedfor.

[0012] Further, if Method (2) is employed which causes the user toselect a desired function from the multistage menu shown in FIG. 39, asthe hierarchy of the menu becomes deeper or increased, the number ofmenus displayed on the screen becomes extremely larger. At the sametime, since menu options as to other functions continue to be displayedin intermediate stages of the selection operation, the menus aredisplayed in a confusing manner, so that the operator is liable toforget his original intention or object while shifting from onehierarchical menu to another to search for the object. Further, inMethod (3) which employs a configuration screen having a plurality oftabs as shown in FIG. 40, there is no menu list provided, and hence ittakes time to find the item if it is not clear under which tab isprovided a function setting option desired by the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] It is an object of the invention to provide an image displayapparatus and method which are always capable of displaying the whole ofmenus at a plurality of hierarchical levels and realize a user-friendlyinterface, a menu display system including at least one menu displayapparatus of the above type, and a storage medium storing a program forexecuting the menu display method.

[0014] To attain the above object, according to a first aspect of theinvention, there is provided an image display apparatus having menus ofa plurality of hierarchical levels, the image display apparatusincluding menu display means for displaying menu data set to eachhierarchical level of the menus in a screen display area, wherein themenu display means displays the menu data such that a plurality of itemsof the menu data are displayed for at least one hierarchical level, andwherein the menu display means comprises individual display widthdetection means for detecting a display width of each item of the menudata, total display width detection means for detecting a total displaywidth required for displaying menu data to be displayed in the screendisplay area, comparison means for comparing the total display widthwith an area width of the screen display area, and display control meansthat, when new menu data at another hierarchical level are to bedisplayed in addition to menu data at at least one hierarchical levelalready displayed, detects the total display width of the menu data tobe displayed including the new menu data, and if the detected totaldisplay width is larger than the area width of the screen display area,carries out a replacement process for replacing a plurality of items ofthe menu data at one of the at least one hierarchical level alreadydisplayed, with other menu data set to the one of the hierarchicallevels, and then displays all the resulting menu data in the screendisplay area.

[0015] Preferably, the replacement process is repeatedly carried out ateach hierarchical level until the total display width becomes smallerthan the area width of the screen display area.

[0016] More preferably, the image display apparatus includes storagecontrol means for carrying out, at each of a plurality of hierarchicallevels already displayed, a process for storing a value of the totaldisplay width and a combination of items of the menu data at theplurality of hierarchical levels already displayed, whenever the totaldisplay width has become smaller than the area width of the screendisplay area through the replacement process, and extraction means forextracting one of stored combinations of the items of the menu data thathas the maximum value of the total display width, the display controlmeans displaying the new menu data at the another hierarchical leveltogether with the menu data at respective hierarchical levels in thecombination extracted by the extraction means, in the screen displayarea.

[0017] For instance, the menu data comprises image data.

[0018] Preferably, the menu data comprises at least one character code,the character code being converted to image data by using menu displayfont data, the menu display means displaying the image data as a menu.

[0019] Preferably, the image display apparatus includes input meanscapable of controlling the menu display means from outside of the imagedisplay apparatus.

[0020] More preferably, the image display apparatus has a WWW browserfunction, and wherein font data of the WWW browser is used as the menudisplay font data.

[0021] To attain the above object, according to a second aspect of theinvention, there is provided an image display apparatus having menus ofa plurality of hierarchical levels, the image display apparatusincluding menu display means for displaying menu data set to eachhierarchical level of the menus in a screen display area, wherein themenu display means comprises starting means for starting a hierarchicalmenu at a first level in which an object selected in the screen displayarea is set to a first-occurring phrase which is first to occur in astatement, first display control means for displaying menu datarepresentative of information items including functions executable onthe object and parameters, in the screen display area, in a manner suchthat the menu data can be sequentially selected as menu options ofsubsequent phrases of the statement subsequent to the first-occurringphrase from hierarchical menus at subsequent levels subsequent to thefirst level, the first display control means sequentially displaying themenu options selected through menu option-selecting operations as a menuoption string arranged in line with an menu option at a preceding level,and issuing means that, when the menu option string is completed as acommand statement after the menu options have been sequentiallyselected, issues a command and command parameters for executing thecommand statement.

[0022] Preferably, the image display apparatus includes changing meansthat, when a phrase of a menu option at a subsequent level istemporarily selected, sequentially changes a particle of a phrase of amenu option at a preceding level selected during the menuoption-selecting operations, at the subsequent level such that theparticle of the phrase of the selected menu option at the precedinglevel becomes grammatically suitable for the phrase temporarilyselected, if it is determined, based on suitable particle informationstored in a table in advance, that the particle of the phrase of theselected menu option at the preceding level is not grammaticallysuitable for the phrase temporarily selected.

[0023] Preferably, the image display apparatus includes registrationmeans for registering a plurality of phrases corresponding to a sequenceof a plurality of menu options, under a new phrase which represents theplurality of phrases, and the first display control means displays thenew phrase, as a part or a whole of the menu option string displayed bythe first display control means.

[0024] More preferably, the image display apparatus includes seconddisplay control means for displaying the new phrase and the plurality ofphrases which the new phrase represents, alternately at predeterminedtime intervals.

[0025] To attain the above object, according to a third aspect of theinvention, there is provided an image display method for an imagedisplay apparatus, for displaying menu data set to each of a pluralityof hierarchical levels of menus in a screen display area, the imagedisplay method comprising the steps of setting a plurality of items ofthe menu data to at least one hierarchical level, detecting a displaywidth of each item of the menu data, detecting, when new menu data atanother hierarchical level are to be displayed in addition to menu dataat at least one hierarchical level already displayed, a total displaywidth required for displaying the menu data to be displayed includingthe new menu data, comparing the total display width with an area widthof the screen display area, carrying out a replacement process forreplacing a plurality of items of the menu data at one of the at leastone hierarchical level already displayed, with other menu data set tothe one of the hierarchical levels, if the detected total display widthis larger than the area width of the screen display area, and displayingthe menu data in the screen display area.

[0026] Preferably, the replacement process includes repeatedly carryingout at each hierarchical level until the total display width becomessmaller than the area width of the screen display area.

[0027] More preferably, the image display method further including thesteps of carrying out, at each of a plurality of hierarchical levelsalready displayed, a process for storing a value of the total displaywidth and a combination of items of the menu data at the plurality ofhierarchical levels already displayed, whenever the total display widthhas become smaller than the area width of the screen display areathrough the replacement process, and extracting one of storedcombinations of the items of the menu data that has the maximum value ofthe total display width, wherein the step of displaying the menu dataincludes displaying the new menu data at the another hierarchical leveltogether with the menu data at respective hierarchical levels in thecombination extracted by the step of extracting the one combination, inthe screen display area.

[0028] For example, the menu data comprises image data.

[0029] Preferably, the menu data comprises at least one character code,and the step of displaying the menu data includes converting thecharacter code to image data by using menu display font data, anddisplaying the image data as a menu.

[0030] Preferably, the image display method includes the step ofcontrolling the displaying of the menus from outside of the imagedisplay apparatus.

[0031] Preferably, the image display apparatus has a WWW browserfunction, and wherein font data of the WWW browser is used as the menudisplay font data.

[0032] To attain the above object, according to a fourth aspect of theinvention, there is provided an image display method for an imagedisplay apparatus having menus, for displaying menu data set to each ofa plurality of hierarchical levels of menus in a screen display area,the image display method comprising the steps of starting a hierarchicalmenu at a first level in which an object selected in the screen displayarea is set to a first-occurring phrase which is first to occur in astatement, displaying menu data representative of information itemsincluding functions executable on the object and parameters, in thescreen display area, in a manner such that the menu data can besequentially selected as menu options of subsequent phrases of thestatement subsequent to the first-occurring phrase from hierarchicalmenus at subsequent levels subsequent to the first level, sequentiallydisplaying the menu options selected through menu option-selectingoperations as a menu option string arranged in line with an menu optionat a preceding level, and issuing, when the menu option string iscompleted as a command statement after the menu options have beensequentially selected, a command and command parameters for executingthe command statement.

[0033] Preferably, the image display method further includes the step ofsequentially changing, when a phrase of a menu option at a subsequentlevel is temporarily selected, a particle of a phrase of a menu optionat a preceding level selected during the menu option-selectingoperations, at the subsequent level such that the particle of the phraseof the selected menu option at the preceding level becomes grammaticallysuitable for the phrase temporarily selected, if it is determined, basedon suitable particle information stored in a table in advance, that theparticle of the phrase of the selected menu option at the precedinglevel is not grammatically suitable for the phrase temporarily selected.

[0034] Preferably, the image display method further includes the step ofregistering a plurality of phrases corresponding to a sequence of aplurality of menu options, under a new phrase which represents theplurality of phrases, and the step of displaying the menu data includesdisplaying the new phrase, as a part or a whole of the menu optionstring.

[0035] More preferably, the step of sequentially displaying the menuoptions selected further includes displaying the new phrase and theplurality of phrases which the new phrase represents, alternately atpredetermined time intervals.

[0036] To attain the above object, according to a fifth aspect of theinvention, there is provided an image display system including at leastone image display apparatus, wherein the image display apparatus havingmenus of a plurality of hierarchical levels, the image display apparatusincluding menu display means for displaying menu data set to eachhierarchical level of the menus in a screen display area, wherein themenu display means displays the menu data such that a plurality of itemsof the menu data are displayed for at least one hierarchical level, andwherein the menu display means comprises individual display widthdetection means for detecting a display width of each item of the menudata, total display width detection means for detecting a total displaywidth required for displaying menu data to be displayed in the screendisplay area, comparison means for comparing the total display widthwith an area width of the screen display area, and display control meansthat, when new menu data at another hierarchical level are to bedisplayed in addition to menu data at at least one hierarchical levelalready displayed, detects the total display width of the menu data tobe displayed including the new menu data, and if the detected totaldisplay width is larger than the area width of the screen display area,carries out a replacement process for replacing a plurality of items ofthe menu data at one of the at least one hierarchical level alreadydisplayed, with other menu data set to the one of the hierarchicallevels, and then displays all the resulting menu data in the screendisplay area.

[0037] To attain the above object, according to a sixth aspect of theinvention, there is provided an image display apparatus having menus ofa plurality of hierarchical levels, the image display apparatusincluding menu display means for displaying menu data set to eachhierarchical level of the menus in a screen display area, wherein themenu display means comprises starting means for starting a hierarchicalmenu at a first level in which an object selected in the screen displayarea is set to a first-occurring phrase which is first to occur in astatement, first display control means for displaying menu datarepresentative of information items including functions executable onthe object and parameters, in the screen display area, in a manner suchthat the menu data can be sequentially selected as menu options ofsubsequent phrases of the statement subsequent to the first-occurringphrase from hierarchical menus at subsequent levels subsequent to thefirst level, the first display control means sequentially displaying themenu options selected through menu option-selecting operations as a menuoption string arranged in line with an menu option at a preceding level,and issuing means that, when the menu option string is completed as acommand statement after the menu options have been sequentiallyselected, issues a command and command parameters for executing thecommand statement.

[0038] To attain the above object, according to a seventh aspect of theinvention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storinga program for executing an image display for an image display apparatus,for displaying menu data set to each of a plurality of hierarchicallevels of menus in a screen display area, the program comprising a menudata-setting module for setting a plurality of items of the menu data toat least one hierarchical level, an individual display width-detectingmodule for detecting a display width of each item of the menu data, atotal display width-detecting module for detecting, when new menu dataat another hierarchical level are to be displayed in addition to menudata at at least one hierarchical level already displayed, a totaldisplay width required for displaying all the menu data to be displayedincluding the new menu data, a comparison module for comparing the totaldisplay width with an area width of the screen display area, areplacement process module for carrying out a replacement process forreplacing a plurality of items of the menu data at one of the at leastone hierarchical level already displayed, with other menu data set tothe one of the hierarchical levels, if the detected total display widthis larger than the area width of the screen display area, and a displaymodule for displaying all the menu data in the screen display area.

[0039] Preferably, the replacement process module repeatedly carries outat each hierarchical level until the total display width becomes smallerthan the area width of the screen display area.

[0040] More preferably, the program further includes a storage modulefor carrying out, at each of a plurality of hierarchical levels alreadydisplayed, a process for storing a value of the total display width anda combination of items of the menu data at the plurality of hierarchicallevels already displayed, whenever the total display width has becomesmaller than the area width of the screen display area through thereplacement process, and an extraction module for extracting one ofstored combinations of the items of the menu data that has the maximumvalue of the total display width, the display module displaying the menudata includes displaying the new menu data at the another hierarchicallevel together with the menu data at respective hierarchical levels inthe combination extracted by the step of extracting the one combination,in the screen display area.

[0041] For example, the menu data comprises image data.

[0042] Preferably, the menu data comprises at least one character code,and the display module converts the character code to image data byusing menu display font data, and displays the image data as a menu.

[0043] Preferably, the program includes an input-responsive controlmodule for controlling the displaying of the menus in response to aninstruction input from outside of the image display apparatus.

[0044] More preferably, the image display apparatus has a WWW browserfunction, and the program uses the font data of the WWW browser as themenu display font data.

[0045] To attain the above object, according to an eighth aspect of theinvention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storingan image display method for an image display apparatus having menus, fordisplaying menu data set to each of a plurality of hierarchical levelsof menus in a screen display area, the program comprising amenu-starting module for starting a hierarchical menu at a first levelin which an object selected in the screen display area is set to afirst-occurring phrase which is first to occur in a statement, a menudata display module for displaying menu data representative ofinformation items including functions executable on the object andparameters, in the screen display area, in a manner such that the menudata can be sequentially selected as menu options of subsequent phrasesof the statement subsequent to the first-occurring phrase fromhierarchical menus at subsequent levels subsequent to the first level, amenu option string display module for sequentially displaying the menuoptions selected through menu option-selecting operations as a menuoption string arranged in line with an menu option at a preceding level,and an command issue module for issuing, when the menu option string iscompleted as a command statement after the menu options have beensequentially selected, a command and command-parameters for executingthe command statement.

[0046] Preferably, the program further includes a particle change modulefor sequentially changing, when a phrase of a menu option at asubsequent level is temporarily selected, a particle of a phrase of amenu option at a preceding level selected during the menuoption-selecting operations, at the subsequent level such that theparticle of the phrase of the selected menu option at the precedinglevel becomes grammatically suitable for the phrase temporarilyselected, if it is determined, based on suitable particle informationstored in a table in advance, that the particle of the phrase of theselected menu option at the preceding level is not grammaticallysuitable for the phrase temporarily selected.

[0047] Preferably, the program further includes a registration modulefor registering a plurality of phrases corresponding to a sequence of aplurality of menu options, under a new phrase which represents theplurality of phrases, and the menu data display module includes adisplay module for displaying the menu data includes displaying the newphrase, as a part or a whole of the menu option string.

[0048] More preferably, the menu option string display module includesan alternately-displaying module for sequentially displaying the menuoptions selected further includes displaying the new phrase and theplurality of phrases which the new phrase represents, alternately atpredetermined time intervals.

[0049] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of theinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of essentialparts and elements of an image display apparatus according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

[0051]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing main keys that belong to a remotecontroller appearing in FIG. 1;

[0052]FIGS. 3A to 3E are diagrams showing menu images displayed by theFIG. 1 image display apparatus;

[0053]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a menu displayed by theFIG. 1 image display apparatus;

[0054]FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of menus displayed by theFIG. 1 image display apparatus;

[0055]FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of menus displayed by theFIG. 1 image display apparatus;

[0056]FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation carried outby the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment;

[0057]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a menu image displayed by an imagedisplay apparatus according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0058]FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation carried outby the image display apparatus according to the second embodiment;

[0059]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of menus displayed by theimage display apparatus according to the second embodiment;

[0060]FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display screen of an image displayapparatus (DTV equipment) according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0061]FIG. 12 is a block diagram schematically showing the arrangementof the DTV equipment according to the third embodiment;

[0062]FIG. 13 is a diagram useful in explaining a data structure ofmenus at respective hierarchical levels, which are used in a commandmenu system of the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0063]FIG. 14 is a diagram useful in explaining the data structure ofmenus at respective hierarchical levels, which are used in the commandmenu system of the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0064]FIG. 15 is a diagram useful in explaining the data structure ofmenus at respective hierarchical levels, which are used in the commandmenu system of the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0065]FIG. 16 is a diagram useful in explaining the data structure ofmenus at respective hierarchical levels, which are used in the commandmenu system of the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0066]FIG. 17 is a diagram useful in explaining the data structure ofmenus at respective hierarchical levels, which are used in the commandmenu system of the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0067]FIG. 18 is a diagram useful in explaining the data structure ofmenus at respective hierarchical levels, which are used in the commandmenu system of the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0068]FIG. 19 is a diagram useful in explaining the data structure ofmenus at respective hierarchical levels, which are used in the commandmenu system of the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0069]FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a hierarchical structure ofsoftware used by the DTV equipment according to the third embodiment;

[0070]FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a screen view of the display screen,which is useful in explaining the command menu system employed by theFIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0071]FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the appearance of an example of aninfrared ray remote controller for operating the FIG. 12 DTV equipmentby the command menu system employed thereby;

[0072]FIG. 23 is a diagram which is useful in explaining the commandmenu system employed by the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0073]FIG. 24 is a diagram which is useful in explaining the commandmenu system employed by the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0074]FIG. 25 is a diagram which is useful in explaining the commandmenu system employed by the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0075]FIG. 26 is a diagram which is useful in explaining the commandmenu system employed by the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0076]FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a subroutine which is called inresponse to depression of a command mode button of the remote controllerused by the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0077]FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation of a commandmenu display subroutine executed at a step of the FIG. 27 subroutine;

[0078]FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing a continued part of the flow of theoperation of the FIG. 28 command menu display subroutine;

[0079]FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing a continued part of the flow of theoperation of the FIG. 28 command menu display subroutine;

[0080]FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing a continued part of the flow of theoperation of the FIG. 28 command menu display subroutine;

[0081]FIG. 32 is a diagram which is useful in explaining a change in aparticle of a preceding menu option, which is caused through operationof the command menu system according to the third embodiment;

[0082]FIG. 33 is a diagram which is useful in explaining a change in theparticle of the preceding menu option, which is caused through operationof the command menu system according to the third embodiment;

[0083]FIG. 34 is a diagram which is useful in explaining a synthesizedmenu table used by the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0084]FIG. 35 is a diagram which is useful in explaining an example of acommand code line input to the FIG. 12 DTV equipment;

[0085]FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of a menu table used by animage display apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention when command phases are registered to the table;

[0086]FIGS. 37A and 37B are diagrams showing conventional menu displayscreens;

[0087]FIG. 38 is a plan view of the appearance of a conventional remotecontroller;

[0088]FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a conventional menu display screen;and

[0089]FIG. 40 is a diagram showing a conventional menu display screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0090] The present invention will now be described in detail withreference to drawings showing embodiments thereof.

First Embodiment

[0091] Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram showingthe essential parts and elements of an image display apparatus accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0092] The image display apparatus according to the present embodimentis formed e.g. by a multi-screen television receiver. In FIG. 1,reference numerals 11 to 15 designate image/sound input sections forreceiving signals from respective image/sound sources and deliveringdigital image data and digital sound data.

[0093] For instance, the image/sound input section 11 is a digitalbroadcast receiver and is comprised of a tuner section for receivingsignals received by an antenna, and subjecting the input signals todemodulation, error corrections, etc., to generate transport stream data(TS data), a demultiplexer for taking out desired image data and sounddata from image data and sound data of a plurality of channelstime-division-multiplexed into the TS data, a video decoder for decodingthe image data, and an audio decoder for decoding the sound data.

[0094] Further, for instance, the image/sound input sections 12 to 14are used for receiving analog image signals and analog sound signalse.g. of the NTSC system, and each comprised of an A/D converter, and aPLL (Phase Locked Loop) for generating an A/D sampling timing signal.Further, for instance, the image/sound input section 15 includes networkmeans connected to the Internet directly or via a telephone line or aninternet provider, and has a browser function for outputting WWW imagesand sounds.

[0095] Reference numeral 20 designates a sound changeover section forselecting one of digital sound data streams input from the image/soundinput sections 11 to 15 to output the input data to a sound outputsection 25. The sound output section 25 converts the digital sound datainput from the sound changeover section 20 to an analog signal which isdelivered as a sound.

[0096] Reference numeral 30 designates an image synthesis section forsubjecting each of digital image data streams input from the image/soundinput sections 11 to 15 to enlargement/reduction processing, frame rateconversion processing, etc. to store the processed data item in an imagememory 31. Further, the image synthesis section 30 generates a writeaddress as required to store the image data in the write address of theimage memory 31 such that the image data in the address becomes apicture image to be displayed in a display section 40.

[0097] Reference numeral 50 designates a display control section forreading out a picture image from the image memory 31 and outputting thesame to the display section 40 for display. Further, when an operationmenu is output from a menu generation section 70, the operation menu isoutput to the display section 40 in a state superimposed on the imageread out from the image memory 31.

[0098] Reference numeral 60 designates a system control section forcarrying out centralized control over the whole of the televisionreceiver according to the present embodiment. Each section is configuredand controlled by the system control section 60, whereby it becomespossible to display images e.g. as shown in FIG. 37A.

[0099] Reference numerals 61 and 62 designate an infrared ray remotecontroller and an infrared ray receiver, respectively. The systemcontrol section 60 is configured such that it can determine or detect akey operated by the remote controller 61, by using the infrared rayreceiver 62. Main keys provided on the remote controller 61 are shown inFIG. 2. The system control section 60 notifies the menu generationsection 70 of the detected key of the remote controller 61.

[0100] The menu generation section 70 generates a menu image inaccordance with the key of which the menu generation section 70 isnotified by the system control section 60. The generated menu image isdisplayed on the display section 40 by the display control section 50.

[0101] Reference numeral 80 designates a menu image storage section. Inthe present embodiment, the menu image storage section 80 stores menuimages appearing in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E, for instance. FIG. 3Ais a diagram showing a menu image 81 at a first hierarchical level. Inthe menu image storage section 80 are stored not only the menu image 81at the first hierarchical level but also the width, not shown, of themenu image 81, which realizes one of the characteristic features of thepresent invention. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing part of a menu image82-1 at a second hierarchical level. This figure shows an operation menuimage at the second hierarchical level, which corresponds to a thirdoption (on SCREEN 3) of the menu at the first hierarchical level.Similarly to the first hierarchical level, the width of the menu image82-1 at the second hierarchical level is stored in the menu imagestorage section 80. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing a second menu image82-2 corresponding to the menu image 82-1 at the second hierarchicallevel, realizing a characteristic feature of the present invention. Inthis case as well, the width of the second menu image 82-2 at the secondhierarchical level is stored in the menu image storage section 80.Similarly, FIG. 3D is a diagram showing part of a menu image 83 at athird hierarchical level, and FIG. 3E is a diagram showing part of amenu image 84 at a fourth hierarchical level. In the menu image storagesection 80 are also stored the widths of the menu images 83 and 84 atthe respective third and fourth hierarchical levels.

[0102] In the following, the characteristic operation of the presentinvention will be described. It should be noted that throughout thespecification, menu options (i.e. command statement phrases) andstatements formed thereby are translations of correspondingJapanese-language expressions, and description of grammatical featuresthereof is based on the grammar of the Japanese language which isparticularly different from the English language in the word order, andincludes “particles” vaguely corresponding to “prepositions” and otherportions attached to “nouns” in English. However, it goes without sayingthe gist of the invention can be also properly applied to Englishlanguage statements comprised of “phrases” which are used here to meanexpressions each formed by at least one word (noun or verb), and theimage display apparatus can be configured such that a proper Englishstatement is formed e.g. by changing a word order (e.g. position of apreposition).

[0103] When the user operates a “MENU” key 61 a of the remote controller61 in order to display the operation menu, the system control section 60notifies the menu generation section 70 of the detection of operation ofthe key 61 a. In response to the notification, the menu generationsection 70 reads out, from the menu image storage section 80, the widthof the menu image 81 shown in FIG. 3A at the first hierarchical level,for storage, and the menu image 81 at the first hierarchical level tooutput the same to the display control section 50. At this time, themenu generation section 70 produces and outputs a cursor such that itcan be determined which menu option the user has selected.

[0104] Then, when the user operates an “UP” key 61C or a “DOWN” key 61darranged on the remote controller 61, the menu generation section 70moves the cursor upward or downward of the selected option. FIG. 4 showsa display image displayed during the upward or downward motion of thecursor. In the figure, a third option (81 a in the figure) in the menuimage 81 at the first hierarchical level is displayed in a shaded mannerso as to indicate that the cursor exists on the third item.

[0105] Next, when the user operates a “ENTER” key 61 e of the remotecontroller 61, the menu generation section 70 reads out the width of amenu at the second hierarchical level corresponding to the option (thethird option in this example) on which the cursor exists at the presenttime, i.e. the width of the menu image 82-1 shown in FIG. 3B, and addsthe width to the width of the menu image 81 at the first hierarchicallevel which is stored previously, to compare the resulting sum with thewidth of a display area of the display section 40. It should be notedthat the width of the display area of the display section 40 and thewidth of the picture image of the image memory 31 are coincident witheach other.

[0106] If, as a result of the comparison, the sum of the width of themenu image 81 and that of the menu image 82-1 is smaller, the menu image82-1 at the second hierarchical level is read out and output to thedisplay control section 50 in combination with the menu image 81 at thefirst hierarchical level. Similarly to the above, in this case as well,the menu images 82-1 and 81 are output together with the cursor, andthen the cursor is moved upward or downward of the option by operatingthe “UP” key 61C or the “DOWN” key 61 d of the remote controller 61.

[0107] Then, when the cursor exists on a second option (INPUT SOURCE) ofthe menu at the second hierarchical level, if the user operates the“ENTER” key 61 e of the remote controller 61, similarly to the above,the width of a menu at the third hierarchical level corresponding to thesecond option on which the cursor is located at the present time, i.e.the width of the menu image 83 shown in FIG. 3D is added to the sum ofthe widths of the above menu images 81 and 82-1 to compare the resultingsum with the width of the display area of the display section 40, andthe menu image 83 is read out for display. FIG. 5 shows an image of thedisplay section 40 displayed at this time.

[0108] It goes without saying that when the widths of menu images at therespective hierarchical levels are added together, if, as shown in FIG.5, the menu images at the respective hierarchical levels overlap eachother, a more accurate value can be obtained by subtracting the lengthof the overlapping portions from the sum of the widths of the menuimages at the respective hierarchical levels. Further, it is obviousthat the widths of the respective menu images at the second and thirdhierarchical levels may be stored in the menu image storage section 80as values obtained by subtracting the widths of the overlapping portionstherefrom in advance.

[0109] Then, when the cursor is placed on a fourth option (IS SWITCHEDTO INTERNET) of the menu image 83 at the third hierarchical level, ifthe user operates the “ENTER” key 61 e of the remote controller 61,similarly to the above, the width of a menu at the fourth hierarchicallevel corresponding to the fourth option on which the cursor exists atthe present time, i.e. the width of the menu image 84 shown in FIG. 3Eis added to the sum of the widths of the above menu images 81, 82-1, and83 to compare the resulting sum with the width of the display area ofthe display section 40. Let it be assumed that as a result of the abovecomparison, the resulting sum i.e. the width of the added menu imageshas become larger than that of the display area of the display section40.

[0110] This assumption implies that if the menu image at the fourthhierarchical level is read out for display as described above, it isimpossible to display all the menus in the display section 40. In such acase, the menu generation section 70 carries out the following operationin accordance with a flowchart shown in FIG. 7. It should be noted thatif a program following this flowchart is stored in a storage device inthe system control section 60, for execution, it is possible toimplement the following control method.

[0111] First, a first menu at the first hierarchical level is displayedat the present time (step S11, step S12), and hence a second menu at thefirst hierarchical level is searched for in the menu image storagesection 80 at a step S13. The second menu at the first hierarchicallevel does not exist here, and next, since a first menu at the secondhierarchical level is displayed at the present time (step S12), a secondmenu at the second hierarchical level is searched for in the menu imagestorage section 80 at the step S13. Now, the second menu at the secondhierarchical level exists, so that the width of the second menu at thesecond hierarchical level, i.e. the width of the menu image 82-2 shownin FIG. 3C is read out, and substituted for the width of the image ofthe first menu at the second hierarchical level, which was used prior tothe same as a menu at the second hierarchical level, to recalculate thesum of widths of respective menu images at the first to fourthhierarchical levels at a step S15. Then, the width obtained as above iscompared with the width of the display area of the display section 40 ata step S16. Now, let it be assumed that the comparison shows that theabove newly obtained total width of the menu images is smaller than thewidth of the display area of the display section 40. Next, at a stepS17, the menu generation section 70 reads out the second menu image 82-2at the second hierarchical level, and substitutes it for the first menuimage 82-1 at the second hierarchical level. Further, at the step S17,the menu generation section 70 reads out the menu image at the fourthhierarchical level, and outputs all the menu images at the first tofourth hierarchical levels to the display control section 50.

[0112] As a result of the above operation, all the menus are displayedon the display section 40. FIG. 6 illustrates the menu images displayedon the display section 40 at this time.

[0113] In the above operation of the menu generation section 70, if thesum of the widths of the menu images recalculated by using the width ofthe second menu image 82-2 at the second hierarchical level is largerthan the width of the display area of the display section 40, theprogram shifts via a step S18 to an operation for searching for a thirdmenu at the second hierarchical level, or subsequently, via a step S14to an operation for searching for a second menu at the thirdhierarchical level, whereby the same operation as described above isrepeatedly executed.

[0114] It is obvious that when the second menu at the first hierarchicallevel exists in the menu image storage section 80, similarly to theabove, the width of the second menu image at the first hierarchicallevel may be used to carry out the same recalculating operation asdescribed above. Further, it is also obvious that if neither the secondmenu at the first hierarchical level nor the second menu at the secondhierarchical level exists, the program proceeds to an operation forsearching for a second menu at the third hierarchical level, whereby thesame operation as described above is repeatedly carried out.

[0115] When the user moves the cursor onto a desired menu option, suchas “TO SELECT CANON INC”, “TO SELECT TRAFFIC INFO”, “TO SELECTwww.kawasaki.co.jp”, or “to SELECT www.canon.soft.com”, at the fourthhierarchical level in the state of FIG. 6, and operates the “ENTER” key61 e of the remote controller 61, the menu generation section 70notifies the system control section 60 of the menu option selected anddetermined by the user since the menu at the fourth hierarchical levelis located at the lowest hierarchical level.

[0116] The system control section 60 properly sets and controls relevantsections appearing in FIG. 1 according to the notification, whereby itbecomes possible to adjust, configure, and control the user's televisionreceiver according to the present embodiment.

Second Embodiment

[0117] Although the arrangement of essential parts and elements of atelevision receiver according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention is the same as that of the essential parts and elements of thefirst embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1, the second embodiment isdistinguished from the first embodiment in that the menu image storagesection 80 stores a second menu image 81-2, shown in FIG. 8, at thefirst hierarchical level and the width thereof. Further, the secondembodiment is distinguished from the first embodiment in that itexecutes a different operation when the sum of widths of menu imagesrecalculated by the menu generation section 70 is larger than that ofthe display area the display section 40.

[0118]FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation carried outby an image display apparatus according to the second embodiment. Itshould be noted that if a program following this flowchart is stored ina storage device in the system control section 60, for execution, it ispossible to implement the following control method.

[0119] Now, let it be assumed that similarly to the first embodiment,the user operates the remote controller 61 to thereby display the menusat the first to third hierarchical levels as illustrated in FIG. 5. Whenthe user operates the “ENTER” key 61 e of the remote controller 61,similarly to the first embodiment, the menu generation section 70 addsthe width of a menu image at the fourth hierarchical level to the sum ofwidths of menu images at the first to third hierarchical levels, to findthat the resulting sum has exceeded the width of the display area of thedisplay section 40.

[0120] In the second embodiment as well, similarly to the firstembodiment, the first menu at the first hierarchical level is displayedat the present time (steps S21, S22, S23), and the menu generationsection 70 searches for a second menu at the first hierarchical level inthe menu image storage section 80 at a step S24. Since the second menuat the first hierarchical level exists in the second embodiment, at astep S25, the menu generation section 70 reads out the width of thesecond menu at the first hierarchical level, i.e. the width of the menuimage 81-2 shown in FIG. 8, substitutes the same for the width of theimage of the first menu at the first hierarchical level, which was usedprior to the menu image 81-2, and recalculates the total width of themenu images at the first to fourth hierarchical levels. The resultingsum is compared with the width of the display area of the displaysection 40 at a step S26. Here, it is assumed that the comparison showsthat the newly obtained total width of the menu images is smaller thanthe width of the display area of the display section 40.

[0121] Although at this time, the menu generation section 70 in thefirst embodiment would read out the second menu image at the firsthierarchical level, and substitute the same for the first menu image atthe first hierarchical level for display, in the second embodiment, thesecond menu image is not displayed at this time or immediately after thecomparison, but the program proceeds to an operation described in thefollowing. It should be noted that if the image display apparatus of thefirst embodiment were used for processing, the menu images as shown inFIG. 10 would be displayed on the display section 40.

[0122] In the second embodiment, since the resulting sum by therecalculation is smaller than the width of the display area of thedisplay section 40, the menu generation section 70 stores the resultingsum of widths of the menu images and the combination of the displayedmenus, i.e. the second menu at the first hierarchical level, the firstmenu at the second hierarchical level, and the first menu at the thirdhierarchical level, at a step S27.

[0123] Now, since the second menu at the first hierarchical level existsin the menu image storage section 80, a third menu at the firsthierarchical level is searched for in the menu image storage section 80at the step S24 by way of a step S28. Here, the third menu at the firsthierarchical level does not exist (step S29, step S30), and the firstmenu at the second hierarchical level is displayed (step S22), and hencea second menu at the second hierarchical level is searched for in themenu image storage section 80 at the step S24. Since the second menu atthe second hierarchical level exists, the width of the image thereof isread out, and added in place of the width of the first menu at thesecond hierarchical level at the step S25 to recalculate the sum ofwidths of respective menu images at the first to fourth hierarchicallevels for comparison of the resulting sum with the width of the displayarea of the display section 40 at the step S26. Now, the comparisonshows that the obtained total width of the menu images is smaller thanthe width of the display area of the display section 40, and similarlyto the above, the menu generation section 70 stores the resulting sumand the combination of the displayed menus, i.e. the first menu at thefirst hierarchical level, the second menu at the second hierarchicallevel, and the first menu at the third hierarchical level at the stepS27.

[0124] Then, since the second menu at the second hierarchical levelexists in the menu image storage section 80, the third menu at thesecond hierarchical level is searched for in the menu image storagesection 80 at the step S24 by way of the step S28. The third menu at thesecond hierarchical level does not exist (step S29, step S30), and thefirst menu at the third hierarchical level is displayed at the presenttime (step S22), so that the second menu at the third hierarchical levelis searched for in the menu image storage section 80 at the step S24.The second menu at the third hierarchical level does not exist, and theprogram is to proceed to the next operation. However, since the menu atthe fourth hierarchical level is not yet displayed (step S29, step S30),the sequence of processes described above is terminated here.

[0125] Then, at a step S31, the menu generation section 70 extracts acombination of menus for display which provides the largest sum ofwidths of menu images of all the combinations of menus for display whichhave been found by the comparisons to provide respective total widthssmaller than the width of the display area of the display section 40 andstored in the menu generation section 70. More specifically, out of thecombination (1) of the second menu at the first hierarchical level, thefirst menu at the second hierarchical level, and the first menu at thethird hierarchical level, and the combination (2) of the first menu atthe first hierarchical level, the second menu at the second hierarchicallevel, and the first menu at the third hierarchical level, a combinationwith the largest sum of widths of menu images, that is, in the presentembodiment, the combination (2) is extracted.

[0126] Next, the above extracted combination (2) of the menus at therespective hierarchical levels and further the menu image at the fourthhierarchical level are output to the display control section 50. Bycarrying out the above operations, all the menus are displayed on thedisplay section 40. At this time, the display section 40 displays thesame menu images as displayed in FIG. 6.

[0127] Hereinafter, similarly to the first embodiment, the user selectsand determines a desired option in the menu at the fourth hierarchicallevel, whereby it becomes possible to adjust, configure, and control thetelevision receiver according to the present embodiment.

[0128] As distinguished from the first embodiment, the presentembodiment permits menu images to be displayed by making the most of thedisplay area (FIG. 10). In other words, displayed contents of the menusare made more detailed than in the first embodiment, and hence it iseasier for a user to view or confirm the contents of the menus.

[0129] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited tothe illustrated examples of the embodiments, but various variations andmodifications are possible. For instance, (1) although in the abovefirst and second embodiments, the menu images are stored in the menuimage storage section 80 as image data, this is not limitative, but fontdata may be provided to thereby store character codes (sets) in the menuimage storage section 80. In this case as well, it is obvious that it ispossible to obtain the width of menus displayed on the display section40 based on the number of characters and the width of a font used fordisplay, whereby the functions of the first and second embodiments canbe implemented.

[0130] (2) Although, in general, font data requires a large amount ofmemory, the television receivers according to the first and secondembodiments have a browser function. Normally, the browser functionnecessitate font data, and therefore, these television receivers havethe font data. Therefore, by sharing the font data with the browserfunction, it is possible to prevent an increase in memory for storingfont data. Further, by using character codes as data for storage in themenu image storage section 80, the capacity of the menu image storagesection 80 can be reduced.

[0131] (3) Even if a character code set is not provided as data ofsecond menus at respective hierarchical levels, it is possible to obtainthe advantageous effects of the invention by reducing the size of a fontfor displaying menu images.

Third Embodiment

[0132]FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display screen for an image displayapparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention,which illustrates characteristic features of an operation menu system ofthe present embodiment.

[0133] Reference numeral 101 designates a display screen of DTVequipment. Although normally, the display screen of DTV equipment iscapable of displaying a single video source, the FIG. 11 display screenfunctions as a parent screen which displays several child screensthereon.

[0134] Reference numerals 102, 103 and 106 designate child screens whichare displayed on the parent screen 101 and capable of displaying videoimages based on respective different video sources. Particularly, thechild screen 106 has a display frame highlighted as is distinct from theother child screens such that the user can easily understand that thechild screen 106 is selected for operation. Further, reference numerals104, 105 and 107 designate respective images of information which areeach displayed by the DTV equipment separately from a video image beingdisplayed on the corresponding child screen, in order to provide anauxiliary display of the type or channel information of the input sourceof the video image. The user can selectively display or not display eachof the images.

[0135] Reference numeral 109 designates a phrase of a statement orsentence which appears first of all the phrases of the statement whenthe operation mode of the child screen is switched to a command mode.More specifically, in a state in which the child screens 102, 103 and106 are being displayed on the display screen 101, and at the same timethe child screen 106 is selected for operation, when the operation modeis switched to the command mode, the phrase 109 appears first of all thephrases of the statement. This phrase 109 is displayed explicitly on abottom of the child screen 106 as a phrase of “OF THIS SCREEN” in orderto suggest to the user that the screen 106 is an object of the commandoperation.

[0136] Reference numeral 110 designates a phrase of the statement,indicating the contents of the operation carried out on the object. Morespecifically, similarly to the phrase 109, when the operation mode isswitched to the command mode, the phrase 110 indicates a detail of theoperation to be carried out on the object, which is finally selected outof options displayed in a menu. Here, the phrase 110 “CHANNEL” isdisplayed to mean change of the channel, as part of a line of thestatement, continued from the above display of “OF THIS SCREEN”.

[0137] Reference numeral 111 designates a menu displayed when theabove-mentioned phrase 110 “CHANNEL” has been selected. FIG. 11 shows astate of the menu in which an option “IS SWITCHED TO NEXT CH” is beingdisplayed in an emphasized frame to indicate that the option is beingselected. This option or portion of the above-mentioned statement meansthat a channel next to the channel currently receiving broadcast on thechild screen 106 of the DTV equipment is selected.

[0138] Then, upon execution of a selection-completing operation, acommand statement for operating the child screen 106, i.e. a line ofcommand statement formed of the phrases “OF THIS SCREEN”, “CHANNEL”, and“IS SWITCHED TO NEXT CH” is formed for display, and immediately then thecommand is executed, that is, the broadcast channel currently beingreceived on the child screen 106 is switched to the next channel todisplay the video image of the same.

[0139]FIG. 12 is a block diagram schematically showing the arrangementof the DTV equipment according to the present embodiment.

[0140] Reference numeral 121 designates an antenna for receivingbroadcast radio waves for the DTV equipment, and reference numeral 122designates a tuner for selecting a target broadcast wave from thebroadcast radio waves received by the antenna 121. Reference numeral 123designates a demodulation circuit for demodulating the selectedbroadcast wave into a stream signal, and decoding the stream signal asrequired. Reference numeral 124 designates a TS decoder circuit forseparating the stream signal into individual stream signals. Referencenumerals 125, 126 and 127 designate individual decoder circuits fordecoding a video stream signal, a sound stream signal, and a databroadcast stream signal, respectively.

[0141] Reference numeral 128 designates an OSD display circuit fordisplaying the functioning state of the DTV equipment and various kindsof information thereof. Reference numeral 129 designates applications,such as an electronic program guide (EPG), an information browser, and amailer, installed on the DTV equipment. Reference numeral 130 designatesan image synthesis section for synthesizing an image by superposing adesired combination of images obtained from respective video signalsobtained from the above decoders, and images obtained by the OSD displaycircuit and the applications, or alternatively images to be displayed ona plurality of child screens arranged side by side in the parent screen101, from the above-mentioned images. Reference numeral 131 designates amonitor for displaying the image or images formed by the image synthesissection 130.

[0142] Further, reference numeral 132 designates a ROM device whichstores software for controlling the DTV equipment, softwareapplications, and data. Reference numeral 133 designates a RAM devicewhich stores software for controlling the DTV equipment, and softwareapplications themselves, and is used as a work area during operationthereof. Reference numeral 134 designates a CPU device for carrying outcontrol of the DTV equipment and applications. Reference numeral 135designates a modem device which is used when the DTV equipmentcommunicates with external devices. Reference numeral 136 designates anIC card device which is connected to the DTV equipment, and stores userID information, information for billing and authentication, and anidentification key for decoding data.

[0143] Reference numeral 137 designates a remote controller device forcarrying out operations on the DTV equipment, and reference numeral 138designates a bus device which is used for transmitting signals and databetween the circuits of the DTV equipment and the CPU device 134, forexecuting communications and control. Reference numeral 139 designates ahigh-speed digital I/F connected to the CPU 134.

[0144] FIGS. 13 to 19 are diagrams which are useful in explaining datastructures of menus at respective hierarchical levels. These menus areused in a command menu system for the DTV equipment according to thepresent embodiment.

[0145] In the data structures shown in a tabular form in these figures,“menu ID” (shown in capital letters in the figures, and the same appliesto the following) indicates a menu, and is used for identificationthereof, and “individual ID” indicates a menu option existing in eachmenu and is used for identification thereof. “Preceding particle controlinformation” indicates a condition for changing a particle (particle orportion equivalent to a particle, hereinafter simply referred to as“particle) of the preceding phrase, and a change point, if the particleof the preceding phrase is unsuitable for the present statement, when amenu option referred to by the “individual ID” is about to be displayedfollowing a finally-determined menu command statement portion, i.e. thepreceding phrase(s).

[0146] “Command statement phrase body” is a body of a command statementphrase which is used in displaying each menu option, and constitutes thecommand statement phase together with a particle of the commandstatement described in “command statement particle” following the“command statement phrase body”. “Command code” designates an area whichstores a command code and a parameter for forming part of a command codeline which is issued when the command statement is completed uponselection and determination of the menu options. “Next connectorinformation” is used for describing a menu ID of a menu to be displayednext after the menu option has been selected and finally determined.

[0147]FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a hierarchical structure ofsoftware of the DTV equipment.

[0148] In the figure, reference numeral 151 designates hardware of theDTV equipment, and reference numeral 152 designates a real time OSsection for processing various kinds of control information and data forcontrolling the hardware of the DTV equipment. Reference numeral 153designates a command API section for passing a control command receivedas a command code line to the real time OS section 152. Referencenumeral 154 designates a module providing GUI's for the DTV equipment,and reference numeral 155 designates applications installed on the DTVequipment.

[0149]FIG. 21 and FIGS. 23 to 26 are diagrams useful in explaining thecommand menu system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 22 is adiagram showing the appearance of an infrared ray remote controller foroperating the DTV equipment by the command menu system according to thepresent embodiment.

[0150] Reference numeral 201 designates a body of the remote controller.Reference numeral 202 designates an infrared ray-emitting port.Reference numeral 203 designates a track ball device, and referencenumeral 204 designates an annular command mode button arranged aroundthe track ball device 203. Reference numeral 205 designates an up-downbutton for volume control. Reference numeral 206 designates an up-downbutton for use in switching channels. Reference numeral 207 designates amute button for temporarily stopping sound output. Reference numeral 208designates an input switching button for switching input sources.Reference numeral 209 designates a 10-key button for directly inputtinga channel or for use in applications. Reference numeral 210 designates afunction button used for viewing data broadcast or for applications.Reference numeral 211 designates a color button which is also used forviewing data broadcast or for applications.

[0151]FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a subroutine which is called inresponse to depression of the command mode button of the remotecontroller. It should be noted that if a program according to thisflowchart is stored e.g. in the ROM 132, for execution, it is possibleto implement the following control method.

[0152] At a step S701, the command mode is started, at a step S702, thenumber of screens displayed on the DTV equipment is detected, and at astep S703, the ID of a screen being currently focused is detected.Further, at a step S704, it is determined whether or not the number ofscreens is equal to one, at a step S705, table data of a menu ID RT001is called, and at a step S706, it is determined whether or not thenumber of screens is equal to four.

[0153] Further, at a step S707, table data of a menu ID RT002 is called,at a step S708, table data of a menu ID RT003 is called, and at a stepS709, a routine is started for starting to display a command menu. At astep S710, it is determined whether or not the command menu has beencompleted normally, at a step S711, a command code line is obtained fromthe command menu display routine normally terminated, at a step S712,the command code line obtained at the step S711 is sent to a command APIsection, and at a step S713, the command menu is canceled when thecommand menu display routine has been terminated abnormally.

[0154]FIGS. 28, 29, 30, and 31 are flowcharts showing a sequence of thewhole operation of the command menu display routine in FIG. 27. Itshould be noted that if a program according to this flowchart is storede.g. in the ROM 132, for execution, it is possible to implement thefollowing control method.

[0155] In FIGS. 28 and 29, at a step S801, the command menu displayroutine is started, at a step S802, it is determined whether or not amenu starting to be displayed is RT00x (x is an arbitrary numeral), at astep S803, a work area is cleared which provides a command statementaccumulation area for sequentially displaying the command menu. Further,at a step S804, a command code line is cleared for accumulating commandcodes output from the command menu, at a step S805, data of menu dataindicated by a specified menu ID is read, at a step S806, the number ofmenus having respective individual ID's in a menu having a menu ID iscounted and the count value is stored in IDMAX.

[0156] At a step S807, it is determined whether or not there is aremaining menu when the display of a plurality of menus is indicated bythe preceding menu, and at a step S808, a new menu table is producedwhich includes continuous individual ID's, from the plurality of menus.Further, at a step S809, a menu pointer indicative of a menu to befocused first out of the individual menus is initialized, at a stepS810, individual menus in the menu instructed to be displayed aredisplayed on a screen in tabular list form, and at a step S811, one ofthe displayed menus which is coincident with the menu pointer isdisplayed in a focused manner.

[0157] Further, at a step S812, the particle information of the commandstatement phrase of the preceding menu stored in the command statementaccumulation area is compared with preceding particle controlinformation of the current menu to determine whether or not the formeragrees with the latter, at a step S813, when the above particle of thepreceding command statement phrase agrees with the preceding particlecontrol information, preceding particle modification information isadded to a portion in the command statement work area which correspondsto the particle of the preceding menu stored, thereby modifying thepreceding particle.

[0158] At a step S814, the command statement work area is additionallydisplayed on the screen, at a step S815, it is determined whether or notthe next connector information of the current menu option is“completion”, at a step S816, a command completion mark indicative ofcompletion of a command is displayed on the display screen when thecommand statement is completed, and at a step S817, the commandcompletion mark is placed in a non-display state.

[0159] Further, at a step S818, it is determined whether tableinformation of the selected menu option includes a code “NEXTMN” underthe column of command codes thereof, at a step S819, for the commandstatement phrase body information of the selected menu option is addedto the command statement work area, and at a step S820, the commandstatement particle information of the selected menu option is similarlyadded to the command statement work area. At a step S821, the-commandstatement work area is additionally displayed on the screen, at a stepS822, the command code of the selected menu option is added to thecommand code line, and at a step S823, the next connector information ofthe selected menu option is obtained.

[0160] In FIGS. 30 and 31, at a step S824, a signal is received from theremote controller in a command menu mode, at a step S825, it isdetermined whether or not the received signal corresponds to a command“RETURN TO PRECEDING MENU”, at a step S826, it is determined whether ornot the received signal corresponds to a command “PROCEED TO NEXT MENU”.Further, at a step S827, it is determined whether or not the receivedsignal corresponds to a command “SHIFT MENU POINTER” (shift menu pointerto another individual menu), and at a step S828, the menu pointer isshifted in response to reception of the signal corresponding to thecommand “SHIFT MENU POINTER”.

[0161] Further, at a step S829, the display of the individual menu listformed based on the current menu is placed in a non-display state, at astep S830, the command statement phrase body information of a selectedindividual menu is additionally stored in the command statement workarea, at a step S831, the command statement particle information of theselected individual menu is additionally stored in the command statementwork area similarly to the command statement phrase body information,and at a step S832, the information stored in the command statement workarea additionally displayed on the screen.

[0162] At a step S833, the command code information of the selectedindividual menu is additionally stored in the command code line, at astep S834, it is determined whether or not the next connectorinformation of the selected individual menu is indicative of“completion”, and at a step S835, the ID of the next menu is obtainedfrom the next connector information.

[0163] At a step S836, the ID of the preceding menu included in thecommand code line is obtained, at a step S837, a portion added by thecurrent menu is deleted from the command statement stored in the commandstatement work area, at a step S838, the command statement informationstored in the command statement work area is displayed again on thescreen, at a step S839, the command code portion stored in the commandcode line and added by the current menu is deleted.

[0164] Further, at a step S840, the command statement of the commandmenu is displayed on the screen in a flashing manner, at a step S841,the command statement of the command menu displayed on the screen isplaced in the non-display state, at a step S842, the command code storedin the command code line is sent out, and a step S843 indicates thetermination point of the command menu display routine.

[0165]FIGS. 32 and 33 are diagrams which are useful in explaining amanner of change in the particle of the preceding menu option, which iscaused through operation of the DTV equipment by the command menusystem. FIG. 34 is a diagram which is useful in explaining a synthesizedmenu table which is produced by synthesizing a plurality of menus togenerate serial synthesized menus ID's in place of redundant individualmenus ID's when selection of a plurality of menu ID's is indicated bythe preceding menu. FIG. 35 is a diagram useful in explaining an exampleof the command code line.

[0166] In the following, the present embodiment will be described indetail with reference to FIGS. 11 to 35.

[0167] Now, in FIG. 11, a plurality of child screens 102, 103 and 106generated by the image synthesis section 130 are displayed on themonitor 131 as the display screen of the DTV equipment. On each of thescreens are displayed several program data separated by the TS decodercircuit 124, and video data input from external devices connected to theDTV equipment via a high-speed digital I/F, for instance.

[0168] Out of the plurality of child screens, the child screen 106 onwhich information of TV3 is currently being displayed has a framethereof displayed in a highlighted manner by the multi-screen GUIfunction of a TV application, which is one of the several applications129 installed on the DTV equipment, for notifying the operator of thechild screen 106 being focused.

[0169] In this state, when the focused child screen 106 is in a normalviewing state in which no command menu is displayed, by operating thetrack ball 203 of the FIG. 22 remote controller in one of upward,downward, leftward and rightward directions, it is possible to shift thefocus to a child screen in the direction of operation of the track ball203 such that simultaneously with the shift of the focus, a sound signaloutput from the body of the DTV equipment is switched to a signal fromthe focused child screen.

[0170] In the above normal viewing state, the command menu of thepresent embodiment starts to be displayed by depressing the command modebutton 204 of the remote controller. It should be noted that aconstruction for receiving digital broadcast and a construction forimplementing a multi-window of the DTV equipment have no directrelationship with the present invention, and hence description thereofis omitted. Further, in FIG. 21 et. seq., for further simplicity, thedescription will be given assuming that the display screen is formed notby multiple screens but by a single screen, for instance. In this case,it is assumed that even when multiple screens are displayed, so far as afocused screen is concerned, a command menu is displayed at a lower endof the focused screen.

[0171]FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a screen view of the display screen106 of the DTV equipment, that is, a normal screen view on which a videoimage, not shown, of a broadcast program on a channel 3 (TV3) isdisplayed. At this time, on a top right portion of the screen,supplementary information 107 is displayed by the OSD display circuit128 and the image synthesis section 130.

[0172] In this state of the supplementary information 107 beingdisplayed, as shown in FIG. 23, the command menu according to thepresent embodiment is displayed by depressing the command mode button204 of the remote controller. At this time, simultaneously with thedisplay, an operation is started of which the flow after the start ofthe command mode is shown in FIG. 27. Here, immediately after thecommand button 204 is depressed, the number of the screens is detectedat the step S702, and at the next step S703, the ID of the focusedscreen is detected.

[0173] Now, in the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 23, thenumber of the screens is equal to one, and hence, the menu ID RT001 iscalled at the step S705, and the command menu display routine is startedat the step S709. At this time, if child screens have already beendisplayed, and the number thereof is equal to two or three, the menu IDRT002 is called at the step S707. Further, if there exist four screensat the step S706, that is, if the number of the screens is equal to themaximum number of screens for the DTV equipment employed in the presentembodiment, the program proceeds to the step S708 for calling the menuID RT003.

[0174] When the menu display routine shown in FIGS. 28, 29, 30, and 31are started, first, at the step S802, a first menu ID is checked, and itis determined whether or not an argument of the checked menu ID is equalto RT00x (x is an arbitrary numeral), that is, whether or not thechecked menu ID indicates the first menu of the command menu.

[0175] Here, since the called menu ID is RT001, the program proceeds tothe step S803, wherein the command statement work area which serves as awork area when a command statement is constructed is cleared forinitialization. Similarly, at the step S804, the command code line forconstructing a command code is also cleared for initialization.

[0176] Next, at the step S805, the data table for the called menu ID isread in. FIG. 13 shows a data table of information of the menu ID RT001,which indicates that the menu contains only one individual menu option.

[0177] At the step S806, the number of ID's of individual menus iscounted. In this example, the number of the individual menus in the menuID RT001, i.e. 1 is stored in the ID number counter IDMAX. At the stepS807, it is determined whether or not a plurality of menus are calledand there is a remaining menu, and when only RT001 is called, the menupointer is set to an initial value 1 to indicate a first menu to befocused. At the step S810, data of the command statement phrase body andcommand statement particle existing in the individual menu in the menuID is displayed as a list. At the step S811, a menu option indicated bythe menu pointer is focused to display in highlighted manner the frameof the command statement phrase in the focused menu option. In thisexample, since the menu ID RT001 contains only one menu option, so thatas shown by reference numeral 303 in FIG. 23, portions “THIS SCREEN” and“OF” are displayed.

[0178] Next, at the step S812, it is determined whether or not thecommand statement particle agrees with the preceding particleinformation in the command statement work area. In the present state,the command statement work area remains in the initialized state, sothat the program proceeds to the step S815, wherein it is determinedwhether or not next connector information contained as an item of thedata table for the focused menu option indicates “completion”. In thepresent case, the answer to this question is negative, so that theprogram proceeds to the step S817.

[0179] At the step S817, if the command completion mark has beendisplayed, the mark is placed in a non-display state, and at the nextstep S818, it is determined whether or not the data table contains thecode “NEXTMN” in the column of the command code. In the case of the menuID RT001, the code “NEXTMN” is included as a command code, and hence atthe steps S819 and 820, the contents under the columns of the commandstatement phrase body and command statement particle of the data tableare additionally written in the command statement work area. Similarly,at the step S822, the contents of the command code are additionallywritten in the command code line. Then, at the step S823, information ofthe column of the next connector (menu ID) i.e. “GN001” and “NW001”, isretrieved, followed by the program returning to the step S802.

[0180] In this case, since the menu ID is not RT00x (x is an arbitrarynumeral), the program proceeds from the step S802 to the step S805,wherein out of the menu tables of GN0001 and NW001 shown in FIG. 14 andFIG. 15, respectively, information of the first next connectorinformation GN001 is first read in. At the next step S806, the number ofthe individual menus of GN001 is counted, and at the step S807, it isdetermined whether or not there is a remaining menu. In this case, theanswer to this question is affirmative so that, the program proceeds tothe step S808, wherein a new menu table, as shown in FIG. 35, for asynthesized menu is produced. Thereafter, the program returns to thestep S805 again to read in a menu table for NW001 this time.

[0181] At the step S806, the number of the individual menus of NW001 isadded to IDMAX in addition to the number of individual menus of GN001,and at the step S809, the menu pointer indicative of a first menu optionto be focused is initialized. At the next step S810, all the individualmenus in the synthesized menu are displayed as a list for comparisonwith the preceding particle information in the command statement workarea, and if they do not agree with each other, the program proceeds tothe step S815.

[0182] At the step S815, the next connector information is checked. Thenext connector information does not yet indicate “completion”, so thatat the step S817, the command completion mark is placed in a non-displaystate, if the mark is displayed, and the program proceeds to the stepS818, wherein it is determined whether or not the code “NEXTMN” existsin the column of command code of the data table for the focusedindividual menu. The code “NEXTMN” is not in the data table of thefocused individual menu in the synthesized menu, and hence, at the stepS824, a signal from the remote controller is awaited. FIG. 23 shows thiswait state. More specifically, when the command menu according to thepresent embodiment is started by depressing the command button firstfrom the state of FIG. 21, the child screen is shifted immediately tothe state of FIG. 23.

[0183] At the next step S825, it is determined whether or not the signalfrom the remote controller is instructing “RETURN TO PRECEDING MENU” tocarry out the above selection and determination again, that is, thetrack ball 203 was operated in the leftward direction. Here, to continueoperation of the command menu, the program proceeds to the step S826,wherein it is determined whether or not the signal from the remotecontroller is instructing “PROCEED TO NEXT MENU” to select theindividual menu focused at the present time point and to cause theprogram to proceed to the next menu, that is, the track ball 203 wasoperated in the rightward direction. Then, the program proceeds to thestep S829. At this time, when the option of the individual menu focusedat the present time point is not one desired by the user, the track ball203 may be operated in the upward or downward direction so that theanswer to the question of the step S827 becomes affirmative. Then, atthe step S828, the value of the menu pointer indicating the focused menuoption is increased or decreased in a manner corresponding to the upwardor downward operation of the track ball 203. Then, the program proceedsto the step S811, wherein the focused position is shifted.

[0184] By repeatedly carrying out the steps S812 to S828, it is possibleto shift the focus on a menu option designated by reference numeral 304in FIG. 23 to another menu option, whereby the operator can select adesired menu option from individual menus displayed in the menu optionlist.

[0185] Now, let it be assumed that after the above selection, in thestate of FIG. 23, the operator selects the menu option “CHANNEL” 304from the menu option list. Further, in the above state, if the operatoroperates the track ball 203 of the remote controller in the rightwarddirection so as to finally determine the selection of the menu option,the signal from the remote controller is received at the step S824, anddepending on the determination at the step S826, the program proceeds tostep S829.

[0186] At the step S829, similarly to the above, the menu option listportion including “CHANNEL” in FIG. 23, of the command menu is placed ina non-display state, and at the steps S830 and S831, the information ofthe menu option selected from the synthesized menu table, and theinformation of the items of the command statement phrase body and thecommand statement particle of a synthesized menu ID 001 is additionallystored in the command statement work area. Further, at the step S832,the contents of the command statement work area are additionallydisplayed on the screen, and at the step S833, information in the columnof the command code of the synthesized menu table is added to thecommand code line. Next, at the step S834, it is determined whether ornot the next connector information indicates “completion”. In the caseof the menu option selected above, the program proceeds to the stepS835, wherein the ID of the next menu is obtained from the nextconnector information. Similarly, in the following, the program proceedsto the step S802, the step S805, the step S806, and the step S807. Sincethe next menu information obtained at the above steps indicates only onemenu ID, the program proceeds to the step S809.

[0187] Next, at the step S810, the information of the command statementphrase body and command statement particle in the FIG. 18 menu ID tablefor the obtained menu ID is displayed as a command menu list. Then, atthe step S811, a menu option for an individual menu ID 001 is displayedin a focused manner by the menu pointer having the initial value setthereto.

[0188] At the next step S812, the preceding particle control informationof the menu option is compared with the preceding particle informationin the command statement work area, and in this case, the programproceeds to the step S815. At this time, the next controller informationof the individual menu ID 001 indicates “completion”, so that theprogram proceeds to the step S816, wherein “command completion mark” isdisplayed which indicates completion of inputting of the command by thecommand menu system for execution of the command after selection of themenu option.

[0189] At the next step S818, information of the command code for themenu option is checked, and at the next step S824, a signal from theremote controller is awaited. In the present case, it is assumed that atthis step S824, the signal of “SHIFT MENU POINTER” is received, and atthe step S827, determination of the received signal is performed. At thenext step S828, the menu pointer is shifted. As a result, an individualmenu ID 002 is selected from the menu, and at the step S811, theindividual menu ID 002 is displayed in a focused manner. Then, afterdetermination at the step S812 is carried out, at the step S816,similarly to the above, the command completion mark is displayed for acorresponding menu in the command menu. Thereafter, information of thecommand code of the menu option is checked at the step S818, and at thestep S824, the program is placed in a signal reception wait state. FIG.24 shows the above signal reception wait state. In the figure, a focusedmenu option “IS SWITCHED TO NEXT CH” in a menu option list designated byreference numeral 405 has the completion mark displayed at a right-sideend thereof.

[0190] In the above signal reception wait state, when the operatoroperates the track ball 203 of the remote controller in the rightwarddirection, to “PROCEED TO NEXT NEMU”, which is detected at the stepS826, the program proceeds to the step S829. At the step S830 and thestep S831, the command statement phrase body and command statementparticle of the selected menu option are added to the command statementwork area. Similarly, the command code is added to the command code lineand at the step S834, it is determined whether or not the next connectorinformation of the selected menu option is indicative of “completion”,and in this case, the answer to this question is affirmative, so thatthe program proceeds to the step S840.

[0191] At the step S840, a line of completed command statement shown inFIG. 25 is repeatedly displayed in a flashing manner by switching thedisplay and non-display of the command statement at short timeintervals. Thereafter, at the step S841, the display of the commandstatement is cleared, and at the step S842, data in a completed commandcode line shown in FIG. 35 is transmitted from the GUI module 154 to thecommand API module 153 as data representative of a user's operation ofthe DTV equipment, whereby as shown in FIG. 26, the channel is switchedfrom channel 3 to channel 2.

[0192] At this time, when a command statement is to be created by themenu command method, if the operator designates a menu option of “SYSTEMINFORMATION”, designated by reference numeral 914 in FIG. 33 to selectthe same, from a state shown in FIG. 32 in which “VOICE” 904 is selectedas the next menu option following the phrase “OF THIS SCREEN” 903, thefocus is reset at the step S811, and at the same time at the step S812,it is determined whether or not information of “OF” of the precedingparticle control information “OF ON” of the synthesized menu informationin FIG. 34, included in the menu option, agrees with the portion “OF” of“OF THIS SCREEN”, i.e. the command statement phrase of the precedingmenu option stored in the command statement work area. As a result, itis determined that the former agrees with the latter, and the programproceeds to the step S813, wherein the command statement work area ismodified such that the portion “OF” of the command statement phrase ofthe preceding menu option is prevented from being displayed on thescreen, and “ON” is placed before “THIS SCREEN”. The modified commandstatement work area is displayed on the screen again at the step S814.

[0193] Although in the present embodiment, the track ball 203 is used asa pointing device of the remote controller by way of example, this isnot limitative, but a joy stick device may be used in place of the trackball 203, and by operating an operation spindle of the joy stick devicesuch that the operation spindle falls in eight or more directions tothereby deliver shift signals corresponding to the respectivedirections, or by depressing the operation spindle from a verticaldirection for a transition to the command menu mode, it is possible tooperate the DTV equipment in the same manner as when the track ball 203is used. It goes without saying that the track ball 203 can be easilyreplaced by a track pad device, a cross cursor shift button, or otherdevices for use in pointing.

[0194] As described above, according to the present embodiment, when theoperator wants to carry out some operation on the DTV equipment, he hasonly to depress the command button 204 of the remote controller on adesired screen, so that a transition to the command menu mode can bemade instantaneously. Further, it is possible to dynamically select onlya function executable in this situation as a menu command to display thefunction in list form.

[0195] Further, also when a desired menu is selected from a hierarchicalset of menus while selecting parameters or the like in intermediatesteps, only menus sequentially selected in the intermediate stepscontinue to be displayed constantly, and the other unselected menuscease to be displayed on the screen, which prevents the selectingoperation from being made complicated or disordered, thereby making itpossible to confirm or view selected menus as desired and in any steps.

[0196] Further, since the sequence of menu options produced by thecommand menu form a line of statement indicating the selected operation,it is possible to provide a simple and understandable command menusystem which enables the operator to achieve his object to complete acommand without being misled even if he operates a multifunctional DTVequipment.

Fourth Embodiment

[0197] In the above described third embodiment, a command menus isoperated so that menu options are sequentially selected to producecommand statements, and whenever a desired function is finally executedby each command statement thus produced, the command statement isdeleted. In the present embodiment, arbitrary combinations of individualmenu options that form command statements frequently used by theoperator are registered in advance in the function button 210 of theFIG. 22 remote controller, under titles related to respective objectsfor which the operator operates the command menu.

[0198] Before the operator carries out the above registration, toproduce a command statement of “OF THIS SCREEN”, “INPUT SOURCE”, “ISSWITCHED TO CHANNEL” “CH1” and “OF GROUND WAVES” by the command menusystem, the following command codes are generated:

[0199] THSWIN (WIN00) [RT001]; WINSRC [GN001+NW001], WINCHE [GN002],CHATEN (CHI) [CH001], GRNWAV [SR001]

[0200] Here, THSWIN designates a command code which is added when acommand statement phrase “OF THIS SCREEN” is selected. The ID of ascreen WIN00 focused at the present time point, and the ID of the menuused at the time point, of the command menu are displayed as argumentsenclosed within respective parentheses ( ) and [].

[0201] Next, in WINSRC [GN001+NW001], WINSRC designates a command codewhich is added when a command statement phrase “INPUT SOURCE” isselected, and [GN001+NW001] designates an argument which is the ID of asynthesized menu formed by synthesizing menu ID's GN001 and NW001 whenthe phrase “INPUT SOURCE” is selected. The argument is expressed suchthat GN001 and NW001 are coupled by a symbol “+” to indicate that thetwo menu ID's are synthesized with each other. The command code WINCHEadded when a phrase “IS SWITCHED TO CHANNEL” is selected has a dedicatedmenu ID GN002 for selection of a channel as an argument. The commandcode CHATEN added when a portion “CH1” is selected is written with anargument CHI for selection of Channel 1 and the menu ID CH001 forchanging channels. Finally, GRNWAV which is a command code added when aphrase (command statement phrase) “OF GROUND WAVES” is selected has themenu ID SR001 for selection thereof, as an argument.

[0202] Now, the operator selects the phrase “OF THIS SCREEN” by thenormal command menu system in order to register a combination of theportions of “INPUT SOURCE”, “IS SWITCHED TO CHANNEL”, “CH1”, and “OFGROUND WAVES” of the above command statement, and then enters aregistration mode. Then, the operator selects the combination of theportions of “INPUT SOURCE”, “IS SWITCHED TO CHANNEL”, “CH1”, and “OFGROUND WAVES” by using the menu command, and terminates the registrationmode, thus completing the registration. Further, in completing theregistration, the operator can assign a desired registration title, suchas “VIEW NEWS” or the like, to the command statement formed of thecombination.

[0203] By carrying out the above operation, a new registered menu optioncan be added to the menu which can follow the phrase “OF THIS SCREEN” ofthe command statement.

[0204]FIG. 36 shows an example of a menu table to which an arbitrarylump of a command statement produced by operating the command menu isregistered.

[0205] Respective items of a menu option registered in the menu tablewill be described. The menu ID of a newly registered menu option is thesame as that of a first one (at a highest hierarchical level) of acombination of original menu options (at respective hierarchical levels)which the newly registered menu option represents, and for all menus(menu tables) with which the original menu options are registeredrespectively, the same registration is effected by using the same menuID.

[0206] The individual menu ID of the newly registered menu option is aserial number newly added to the individual menu ID's belonging to themenu. As to preceding particle control information, although precedingparticle control information is at first set to the same as that of thefirst command statement phrase in the newly registered portion of thecommand menu, it is required that the preceding particle controlinformation can be otherwise edited depending on a title, describedhereinafter, newly registered to the items of the command statementphrase body and the command statement particle. For instance, when a newtitle “VIEW NEWS” is registered to the item of the command statementphrase body as a newly registered title of the registered command menuoption, if the command statement phrase “VIEW NEWS” is placedimmediately after the portion “OF THIS SCREEN”, the portion “OF THISSCREEN” should be changed to “ON THIS SCREEN”. Therefore, in this case,the DTV equipment is required to incorporate input means for inputtingpreceding particle control information “OF→ON”.

[0207] Further, in this case, it is possible to omit the item of commandstatement particle since the next connector information “completion” ofthe last phrase of the newly registered command statement is registeredto the item of next connector information.

[0208] As the command codes of the newly registered command statement,command codes corresponding to a command statement starting with theabove command statement phrase “INPUT SOURCE” are registered as follows:

[0209] WINSRC [GN001+NW001], WINCHE [GN002], CHATEN (CHI) [CH001],GRNWAV [SR001]

[0210] Such a construction of the remaining portion of the command codeline enables the operator to select the option “VIEW NEWS” from anyoption on the menu, such as “OF THIS SCREEN”, “NEW SCREEN IS ADDED”, and“CHILD SCREEN, which is configured such that it can be followed by thephrase “INPUT SOURCE.

[0211] Further, although in the present embodiment, in registration of acommand statement by the command menu system, such a command statementis registered as includes an intermediate phrase to the last commandcompletion point thereof, this is not limitative, but such a commandstatement may be further registered as includes from the first phrase toan intermediate phrase such that desired phrases can be selected fromthe command menu to be arranged forward and backward of the registeredportion.

[0212] According to the present embodiment described above, a commandstatement frequently used by the operator can be registered with a titleunderstandable to him. Moreover, it is possible to select usable phrasesfrom the command menu to connect them as desired to front and rear endsof the command statement. This makes it possible to obtain a highlyadaptable and user-friendly command menu system.

[0213] Further, if the title of a command statement is registered inassociation with the user's object, a command menu can be obtained whichis not only capable of operating the functions of the DTV equipment, butalso is readily understandable to an unskilled operator. This makes itpossible to provide an operational environment that facilitatesimplementing advanced functions of the DTV equipment.

Fifth Embodiment

[0214] In the above fourth embodiment, in registering a desired commandstatement phrase, the command statement phrase is registered by whollysubstituting “registration preceding particle control information”,“registration title portion”, and “registration title particle”, each ofwhich is newly input and registered by the operator, for the “precedingparticle control information”, “command statement phrase body” and“command statement particle portion” of the menu table alreadyregistered. In the fifth embodiment, however, the above menu table isprovided with new items of “registered command statement precedingparticle control information”, “registered title portion” and“registered title particle” for storing respective information itemsnewly input and registered by the operator in the same manner asdescribed above in the fourth embodiment. Further, as the existing itemsof “preceding particle control information”, “command statement phrasebody” and “command statement particle” of the menu table, the followingare registered: the preceding particle control information of the firstphrase of a command statement formed by a plurality of command statementphrases connected to each other, a command statement portion of thecommand statement phrase from which is excluded a particle of the laststatement phrase of the command statement phrase formed by the pluralityof command statement phrases connected to each other, and finally theparticle of the last statement phrase of the command statement phraseformed by the plurality of command statement phrases connected to eachother.

[0215] Further, a display means is provided which, when the operatoractually operates the command menu to form a command statement, iscapable of alternately displaying command statement phrase bodies andrespective command statement particles associated therewith frominformation of a table for a corresponding menu, and command statementphrase bodies and command statement particles associated therewith,formed by using the information of the newly-added “registered commandstatement preceding particle control information”, “registered titleportion” and “registered title particle”, which makes it possible todisplay a proper command statement created by the command menu system,which describes the functions and operations of the DTV equipment indetail, even when selection of command codes is carried out by using asimplified registered title. Therefore, even if there is a menu optionregistered by using a vague title, a genuine function associated withthe menu option is displayed in the form of a command statement, wherebyit is possible to provide a reliable and understandable command menusystem.

[0216] The present invention is not limited to the devices according toabove embodiments, but it may be applied to a system comprised of aplurality of devices, or an apparatus formed of one device. It goeswithout saying that the object of the present invention may beaccomplished by supplying a computer-readable storage medium in which isstored a software program realizing the functions of the above-mentionedembodiments to a system or apparatus, and causing a computer (CPU orMPU) of the system or apparatus to read out and execute the programstored in the storage medium.

[0217] In this case, the code of the program itself read out from thestorage medium achieves the functions of the above embodiments, and thestorage medium storing the program constitutes the present invention.The computer-readable storage medium for supplying the program to thesystem or apparatus may be in the form of a floppy disk, a hard disk, anoptical memory disk, an magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R(CD-Recordable), a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, or a ROM,for instance.

[0218] Further, needless to say, not only the functions of the aboveembodiments can be realized by carrying out the program read out by thecomputer but also an OS (operating system) or the like operating on thecomputer carries out part or whole of actual processing in response tothe instruction of the code of the program, thereby making it possibleto implement the functions of the above embodiments.

[0219] Furthermore, it goes without saying that after the code of theprogram read out from the storage medium has been written in a memoryincorporated in a function extension board inserted into the computer orin a function extension unit connected to the computer, a CPU or thelike arranged in the function extension board or the function extensionunit carries out part or whole of actual processing in response to theinstruction of the code of the next program, thereby making it possibleto achieve the functions of the above embodiments.

1-35. (Canceled).
 36. An image display apparatus having menus of a plurality of hierarchical levels, comprising: menu display means for displaying menu data set to each hierarchical level of the menus in a screen display area; determination means for determining, when said menu display means displays new menu data at another hierarchical level in addition to menu data at at least one hierarchical level already displayed, whether or not the new menu data can be placed within the screen display area; and display control means for carrying out, if the new menu data cannot be placed within the screen display area, a replacement process for replacing a plurality of items of the menu data at one of the at least one hierarchical level already displayed, with other menu data set to the one of the hierarchical levels, and a display process for displaying the resulting menu data in the screen display area.
 37. An image display apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the replacement process is repeatedly carried out at each hierarchical level until the new menu data can be placed within the screen display area.
 38. An image display apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the menu data comprises image data.
 39. An image display apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the menu data comprises at least one character code, the character code being converted to image data by using menu display font data, said menu display means displaying the image data as a menu.
 40. An image display apparatus according to claim 36, including input means capable of controlling said menu display means from outside of the image display apparatus.
 41. An image display apparatus according to claim 39, having a WWW browser function, and wherein font data of the WWW browser is used as the menu display font data.
 42. An image display method for controlling an image display apparatus having menus of a plurality of hierarchical levels, method comprising the steps of: displaying menu data set to each hierarchical level of the menus in a screen display area; determining, when new menu data at another hierarchical level are to be displayed in addition to menu data at at least one hierarchical level already displayed in said menu displaying step, whether or not the new menu data can be placed within the screen display area; and carrying out, if the new menu data cannot be placed within the screen display area, a replacement process for replacing a plurality of items of the menu data at one of the at least one hierarchical level already displayed, with other menu data set to the one of the hierarchical levels, and a display process for displaying the resulting menu data in the screen display area.
 43. An image display method according to claim 42, wherein the replacement process is repeatedly carried out at each hierarchical level until the new menu data can be placed within the screen display area.
 44. An image display method according to claim 42, wherein the menu data comprises image data.
 45. An image display method according to claim 42, wherein the menu data comprises at least one character code, wherein the menu displaying step includes converting the character code to image data by using menu display font data, and displaying the image data as a menu.
 46. An image display method according to claim 42, including the step of controlling displaying the menus from outside of the image display apparatus.
 47. An image display method according to claim 45, wherein the image display apparatus has a WWW browser function, and wherein font data of the WWW browser is used as the menu display font data.
 48. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing an image display for an image display apparatus having menus of a plurality of hierarchical levels, the program comprising: a displaying module for displaying menu data set to each hierarchical level of the menus in a screen display area; a determination module for determining, when new menu data at another hierarchical level are to be displayed in addition to menu data at at least one hierarchical level already displayed by said displaying module, whether or not the new menu data can be placed within the screen display area; and a control module for carrying out, if the new menu data cannot be placed within the screen display area, a replacement process for replacing a plurality of items of the menu data at one of the at least one hierarchical level already displayed, with other menu data set to the one of the hierarchical levels, and a display process for displaying the resulting menu data in the screen display area. 